Dave Sully, Lee County Sheriff’s VOICE Volunteer
In an earlier article, I wrote about the need to understand the terms “slow speed” and “idle speed,” as there is a need to regulate certain areas around the waters of Lee County. Most of my references coincided with the desire by authorities to protect manatee zones, which are particularly sensitive to boats moving at high speed.
However, there are some places where a mixture of speed and a high concentration of boats in a relatively small area can create problems for veteran boaters and visitors alike. Such an area is Matanzas Pass, which begins at the north end of Estero Island, near Bowditch Point State Park.
Bowditch, as it’s referred to by local residents, is a rounded area of land, which provides a natural environment for those want to get away from the bustle of Fort Myers Beach. Part of Bowditch faces the Gulf, while the rear of park faces the entrance to the back bay area behind Estero Island. The back bay features much calmer waters during windy conditions than the volatile Gulf, especially for small craft, like deck boats and the popular pontoon boats, known as “party barges,” along with much larger vessels of all stripes. It runs the length of Estero Island, passing under the Matanzas Bridge shortly after entering the bay.
Because of its strategic location, it attracts many traveling boats, while the back bay is home to many more vessels, including the shrimp fleet, with much larger than normal craft, replete with extensive rigging. The rub is a fairly narrow channel which creates a choke point or bottleneck as vessels make what amounts to a ninety degree turn around Bowditch Point to gain entry to the back bay channel. The process is complicated by the fact that as soon as boats make the turn in the channel to enter the bay, a slow speed zone begins, lasting about two miles, before boats can resume normal operation. Further complicating matters, there is no speed zone in the channel until boats reach that point coming in and going out.
With the arrival of more boats every day, this spot can prove extremely dangerous and requires due diligence when passing through the area. Of particular concern to the Lee County Sheriff’s Marine Unit is the tendency for boaters to neglect the slow speed zone coming in, failing to slow down after they pass the speed zone sign, which requires vessels to be fully settled in the water, creating minimum wake. The same problem exists when vessels are leaving and heading out to the gulf. They accelerate before they reach the sign, creating hazardous conditions for boats entering the area.
The complaint when boaters are pulled over by the Sheriff’s Marine vessels is they didn’t see the sign; they thought they were past it, or they thought they were navigating slowly enough. By the way, most boaters can’t define “slow speed” as described in the law, nor “idle speed” either, which means producing no wake and traveling just fast enough to maintain course. There are zones in the back bay, especially in mooring fields adjacent to the Matanzas Bridge, the canals, and approaching marinas designated “idle speed.”
Safe boating requires strict adherence to these restrictions. Citations and possible accidents await those who ignore them. Please use extra caution in the area of Matanzas Pass so everyone can enjoy it without risk.